Monday, January 7, 2013

Arguably the single
most successful entrepreneur of the twentieth century was Alfred Pritchard
Sloan (1875-1966). In 1920 he joined an unwieldy and nearly bankrupt collection
of business entities called General Motors, scratching out just 12 percent market
share against the 55 percent of Henry Ford’s indomitable Model T.In 1956 when Sloan retired
as chairman of GM, the company boasted a 52 percent market share, a matchless reputation for innovation, quality and reliability, and some of the strongest
consumer brands in the world.Over a 36-year
career, Alfred Sloan orchestrated the creation of the largest, best run, and most
valuable company on the planet.Those readers who
know the American auto industry only through the lens of poor quality, hidebound management, bankruptcies and bailouts might be interested to learn that it began as one of
the most fluid and hypercompetitive markets in history.In 1903 alone, 57 automobile companies were
founded in the United States (and another 27 went bankrupt). Consumers could
choose from 1,500 distinct models produced by seemingly as many companies.Sloan described Detroit’s entrepreneurial
community like we might today’s Silicon Valley: “The field was open to all;
technical knowledge flows from a common storehouse of scientific progress. . .The
market is world-wide, and there are no favorites except those chosen by the
customers.” And, not unlike today’s
smartphone, Sloan wrote of the automobile, “Humanity never had wanted any
machine as much as it desired this one.”

Alfred Sloan was
blessed with extraordinary focus, great energy, an ability to attract and
foster amazing talent, and an intellect that grasped modern consumerism better
than most anyone in the world. His
innovations ranged from four-wheel brakes and ethyl gasoline to safety glass
and the concept of “annual models.” He has been hailed as the father of the
modern corporation, a master of consumer mass marketing, and the most effective
CEO ever.

He was also an
introvert--a flat-out, socially uncomfortable, avoid-the-party,
go-home-to-his-wife-at-night introvert.